Heartbreak
by MoonlightMasquerading
Summary: Andromeda's vow to look after her family forever is totally shattered.


_Crying. Over and over. A baby's wail filled the room, thin and piercing. A younger Andromeda heard the wail, and sat up in her resident chair. Her daughter was crying, crying for her. Andromeda was loved, and needed. Her baby, Nymphadora, was one of the only people alive who still cared about her. Andromeda couldn't imagine her life without her baby girl and her father, Ted. The two of them were her world, and meant everything to her. Smiling, Andromeda stood elegantly, and swept out of the room to attend to her crying daughter. Arriving in the room, she picked up her daughter from the crib and gently rocked her, stroking Nymphadora's vibrant purple hair. The little girl stopped crying almost instantly, nestling her small head in her mothers long chestnut hair. Andromeda smiled at her daughters gentle nuzzle, and murmured, "I love you, Dora. I promise to look after you until the day I die."_

That was many years ago. Over those years, Andromeda and Ted watched Nymphadora grow into an energetic, happy young girl. From an early age, she protested against being called Nymphadora, insisting upon being called Tonks, her surname. This little piece of indignance caused different outcomes in her parents. Ted merely laughed and bartered with his daughter, saying he'd only call her Dora, not Nymphadora. The little girl agreed. However, Andromeda just said that Nymphadora was her birth name and she was being silly. As Tonks grew older, she showed that she had her father's extreme clumsiness. She was forever breaking things and falling over. When she was at Hogwarts, Andromeda and Ted received many complaints off of teachers. It seemed their Hufflepuff Dora was a trouble maker, just like her cousin, Sirius. Sirius was the only member of Andromeda's family who hadn't disowned her for marrying a Muggleborn, Ted. Andromeda had already lost one family, and was intent on not losing her smaller one she'd built up. Years flew by, and her daughter quickly grew up and dove straight into Auror training. Andromeda didn't really approve of this position, she deemed it rather dangerous. But she swore to make Dora's life as happy as she could, so stood by her daughter while she trained. Three years passed, and Dora's skills as a Metamorphmagus proved to be able to help her in Auror work. The day Nymphadora Tonks became an Auror was one of the proudest days of Ted and Andromeda's life. Time sped up from then, and Tonks met and fell in love with fellow Order of The Phoenix member, (and werewolf) Remus Lupin. The Order was devised by Dumbledore to combat Voldemort in the second wizarding war which had sprung itself upon the magical world. Andromeda and her husband worried a great deal about their daughter being in love with a werewolf, who was so much older than her. They thought he'd hurt their precious, baby girl. Turns out he hurt her emotionally, by leaving her when he found out that he'd got Dora pregnant. Andromeda was furious- he'd left her daughter alone! On that day, Andromeda vowed to look after the baby with Dora, whether it turned out to be a werewolf or not.

One day, midway through the Wizarding War, Andromeda sat at home with Nymphadora and her little son, Teddy. Teddy had been born a Metamorphmagus, not a werewolf like his father. Andromeda sat reading the Prophet, slower than usual. Her husband had been missing for a while, and she didn't want to reach the 'Deaths' column quite yet. Leafing through the front pages, Andromeda heard Teddy's wails start up from his spot in Dora's room. Sighing, Dromeda cast her mind back to one of the times Dora wouldn't stop crying, the time when Dromeda had vowed to always look after her. Now though, it was her daughters turn to comfort her child. Smiling lightly, Andromeda settled herself back in the chair, listening to her daughters running footsteps and the creak of the crib as Dora picked up Teddy. It was eerie to think that her daughter was almost in exactly the same position Andromeda had been in a few years ago. Looking after her crying baby, alone in the house. Teddy even had the same crib Dora had. A few seconds after Dora had picked up Teddy, he stopped crying, and a faint snuffle was heard from upstairs. Andromeda had to hand it to her daughter- she was a good mother, and always would be. Smiling again, Andromeda took a deep breath and headed back to her paper, turning the page onto the Deaths column. She didn't really take in the names, wondering inside her head when Ted would come back home. When he did, she just knew he'd be overjoyed to know he had a healthy grandson. He hadn't heard the happy news yet, and Andromeda couldn't wait until he did! Blinking out of her reverie, she focused on the names in the column, feeling a small bit of sympathy for the names she saw, occasionally letting out a gasp as she recognised her old school friends. Nothing really terrible though. Andromeda scanned down the list, past the S's and towards the T's. Warlock Tindius, David Tasercha…

She stopped about halfway, and read a name, her eyes widening in horror. Her grip on the paper slackened, and it fell to the floor, along with what felt like Andromeda's heart. Tears fell down her face, and her gaze locked on the door, her throat feeling so painful it felt like it was about to burst with grief.

"Mum?" came the voice of Dora, sounding from over by the door, accompanied with a small snuffling. Upon hearing her daughter, Andromeda turned her tear stained face towards her, taking in the sight of her daughter holding her son in her arms.

"Mum? Please, whats wrong?" Dora asked, worried. She walked over to her mother and crouched down by the chair, staring at the tear tracks on her mums face.

"I-Its… Its your father, Dora. H-He's d-d-d-dead.," Andromeda sobbed, broken hearted. She put her face in her hands, and cried for her husband, the husband she'd loved more than life itself. Memories started to come through into her mind as she did so; Dromeda and Ted first meeting, carving their names into a tree, having Dora.. Taking Dora to the tree so she could write her name as well…

A few minutes passed, and Andromeda felt her daughters head on her knee, and heard a small sob come from her daughter. They'd both lost one of the most important people in their lives. And the life they were leading had just been shattered.

"Dora.. Listen. I-I know Ted's gone, b-but we still have each other, right? Please, darling I couldn't bear to be without you either. My life wouldn't be worth living without you," Andromeda whispered quietly to her daughter.

"Of course, Mum. We'll always have each other. Nothing can rip us apart."

A few hours passed, and Teddy had been transferred from Dora's arms to Andromeda's. Dora was arguing that she needed to get to Hogwarts, to help Remus and the others in the huge battle against the Death Eaters. Andromeda, however, was adamant that she wouldn't go, though! She'd just given birth, for Merlins sake! Whatever Andromeda said, Dora just ignored and protested. A few solid minutes of arguing passed, and Dora made up her mind that she'd go, and leave Teddy with her mum. Ignoring Andromeda's protests, Dora pulled on her cloak and ran out of the door, calling out that she'd be back later, and to feed Teddy at seven.

Sighing, worried, Dromeda headed back to the kitchen, half heartedly bouncing Teddy as she went. His giggle seemed so wrong in these dark, depressing times. As she'd just lost her husband, giggling was something Andromeda thought she could never do again. She fed Teddy early, and put him to bed, resigning herself to her bedroom. Once there, she lay down on Ted's side of the bed, and sobbed herself to sleep.

Time passed, and Dora hadn't returned. Andromeda just assumed she was fighting, and started preparing some dinner for her and the rest of the family for when they came back. It was afternoon, and Dora had been gone all night. It must have been a tough battle, Andromeda assumed. She sat down on the worktop, putting Teddy inside a baby bouncer on the opposite unit. Teddy giggled and looked up at his grandma, changing his hair colour to blue and smiling. His grandma smiled slightly, looking away from him towards the mantel, where Ted's old clock sat. As it ticked, it reminded her of Ted, and again how late Dora was. It was late afternoon, and Andromeda was starting to worry for her baby and Remus. An hour passed, Andromeda staring at the clock, watching the hands slowly tick by. At around seven, her letterbox rattled and a male voice echoed through it, 'Voldemort! He's dead! Come see Hogwarts!' then clanged shut again. Was it true? Andromeda jumped up, grabbed Teddy and disapparated, inside a happy little bubble filled of elation. She arrived about a mile out of Hogwarts, on the Forest outskirts, and started walking quickly. In a few minutes, she was in sight of Hogwarts, and thought, 'bog it, I'll run' and started running. The world sped up around her, and Teddy laughed in excitement. Andromeda soon reached the doors and looked around, alarmed at what had happened to her once beloved school. It was reduced to rubble from the battle, but she guessed it could be fixed. Pushing the doors open, she scurried into the castle, covering her grandsons face so he couldn't see the dead bodies laid out on the floor. Frowning, Andromeda ran into the hall, and looked around frantically for her daughter. Her gaze was caught by a group of people at the end of the hall, dressed in black robes, despite the elation that had sprung upon most of the Wizarding World. Curious, Andromeda and her grandson headed over to see what was going on, getting a glimpse of the people in robes as they passed. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, and a few of Dora's friends from the Ministry. They parted as she headed over, and Andromeda caught a glimpse of a purple robe clad leg sticking out on the floor, as if its owner was sleeping. Andromeda knew that leg. She's known it for over 20 years. Her eyes travelled up the body, and stopped when she reached the head. It was turned away from her, but she knew that hair anywhere. Mousy brown, limp. Still. As the realization hit her, Andromeda slid onto the floor, too full of grief to do or say anything. It was her baby. Her Nymphadora. The only other person who'd been in her perfect little family. The one she'd vowed to look after all her life.


End file.
